‘SALN errors may be corrected’

MANILA, Philippines — Errors in the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of government officials and personnel may be corrected after all, the Court of Appeals (CA) has ruled.

The CA made the ruling as it cleared a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official earlier suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for failure to declare specific assets in his SALN – an issue that doomed two chief justices of the Supreme Court.

In a 15-page decision released last week, the Seventh Division of the appellate court reversed and set aside the six-month suspension order issued by the ombudsman against BOC collector Romalino Gabriel Valdez in July 2015.

It granted the petition of Valdez and ruled that them ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales erred in imposing the administrative penalty against the official who served as Clark International Airport’s deputy collector for administration.

The CA held that the BOC official could have been informed of his mistake and given a chance to explain or correct it, as provided under Section 10 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

It cited the need to “strike a balance” between the accountability of public officers and their right to privacy, especially as the error in Valdez’s SALN was not deemed to be an attempt to conceal ill-gotten wealth.

“While the requirement of filing a SALN is essential to promote transparency in the civil service and operates as a deterrent against government officials bent on enriching themselves through unlawful means, the Court must be mindful that this principle be not upheld at the expense of a public servant’s right,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Sesinando Villon.

Records showed that the ombudsman penalized Valdez for “lumping” together his real and personal assets and reporting their aggregate value, without specifying and listing them down one by one.

The anti-graft office ruled that Valdez violated the law after failure to observe the detailed inventory of assets and liabilities required by Section 7 of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Section 8 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

But the CA did not agree with the ombudsman and stressed that Valdez should have not been suspended because he was able to fully explain and specify the entries in his SALN.

Valdez submitted to the ombudsman supporting documents pertaining to the assets not specified in his SALN, in response to the complaint filed by the Department of Finance-Revenue Integrity Protection Service (DOF-RIPS).

“There is nothing wrong with generalized SALNs if their entries can be satisfactorily explained and verified,” the CA pointed out.

The court added that Valdez should have been given chance to correct such error, which was attributed to failure to give proper attention to his SALN.   

Issues involving SALN had caused the removal from office of late chief justice Renato Corona in 2012 and the ouster of chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno in May last year.

Corona was impeached for failure to declare assets in his SALN while Sereno was removed by the SC via quo warranto petition due to failure to file her SALNs.